Savannah, Georgia, debutante Juliette Gordon Low's aristocratic status was sealed with her marriage in 1886 to William Mackay Low, the son of a family well established in both England and the United States. Low spent most of her nine-year marriage in England, serving as a hostess for the highest-ranking members of British society, including the Prince of Wales. In 1905, at the loss of her husband, her marriage, and her pride Low's husband died before the couple's impending divorce, leaving his entire estate to his mistress she sank into a deep depression. While reappraising her role in life, she met General Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the British Boy Scouts. Attracted by its mission, Low, back in the states, organized her first Troop of American “Girl Guides” in Savannah, Georgia in 1912. The following year the name was changed to Girl Scouts

London artist Edward Hughes was an exceedingly popular portrait painter in European high society. His commissions included the Prince of Wales, his brother Prince Albert, and his sister Princess Mary, among other royals and persons of wealth. Low commissioned Hughes to paint his new bride's portrait shortly after the couple's move to England.

Edward Hughes (1832-1908)
Oil on canvas, 1887
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Gift of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America
NPG.73.5

Enlarged image

NPG Home Page | NPG Current Exhibitions
© 2002 Smithsonian Institution